The cast of voice actors for the upcoming Japanese version Transformers Prime (Super Robot Life Forms Transformers Prime) has been revealed as well as the opening and ending themes. Transformers Prime (Super Robot Life Forms Transformers Prime) debuts in Japan on April 7th. See the voice talent below:

Wait, no Tessho Genda? I guess it's cool that Tekkaman Blade's doing Optimus, but why not? I do like that they picked the original Ganondorf VA to do Bulkhead though, he's basically guaranteed to not be as wimpy sounding as he was in Animated.

So, we got some who have experience with the Transformers, and some who have been part of mostly non-TF anime.

But, yeah, it's too bad there's no Tesshō Genda for Optimus (they even got him for Omega Supreme and G1 Convoy in the Japanese dub of Animated. Yes, that's right, G1 Convoy/Optimus Prime made an appearance in the Japanese dub of Animated ).

Or even Seizō Katō for Megatron. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he isn't really doing much voice work these days, right?

Sabrblade wrote:Or even Seizō Katō for Megatron. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he isn't really doing much voice work these days, right?

Yeah he hasn't done much as of late, certainly not as much as he used to do, weirdly enough his only time "reprising" the Megatron role was when he did Mesutron from that awesome Panty and Stocking parody.

On the subject of Tessho Genda though, he did voice Primus in Super Link and Galaxy Force, so if Primus ever shows up in Prime Genda might be a likely candidate to voice him.

Sabrblade wrote:But, yeah, it's too bad there's no Tesshō Genda for Optimus (they even got him for Omega Supreme and G1 Convoy in the Japanese dub of Animated. Yes, that's right, G1 Convoy/Optimus Prime made an appearance in the Japanese dub of Animated ).

Or even Seizō Katō for Megatron. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he isn't really doing much voice work these days, right?

Sabrblade wrote:But, yeah, it's too bad there's no Tesshō Genda for Optimus (they even got him for Omega Supreme and G1 Convoy in the Japanese dub of Animated. Yes, that's right, G1 Convoy/Optimus Prime made an appearance in the Japanese dub of Animated ).

Or even Seizō Katō for Megatron. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he isn't really doing much voice work these days, right?

Pics or didnt happen

Audio only. His was a voiceover appearance at the beginning of the Japanese dub of "TransWarped, Part 1" in which he had a brief conversation with Animated Optimus Prime.

Though, I can't locate the exact video, but I did find one close to it. It's a preview for the episode I'm referring to, with Tesshō Genda and Hiroki Takahashi as G1 and Animated Optimus Prime, respectively, promoting the episode together.

The deeper voice with the red text is G1 Optimus Prime, and the younger voice with the blue text is Animated Optimus Prime.

Coming from an anime background, the opening and ending theme songs have been disappointing within the last several years. It sets the whole show up, yet why did they even have to change the opening song in the first place? I'm kind of excited for the voice cast list, so I may end up watching it in Japanese if I can find it when it comes out.

LadyBug wrote:Coming from an anime background, the opening and ending theme songs have been disappointing within the last several years. It sets the whole show up, yet why did they even have to change the opening song in the first place? I'm kind of excited for the voice cast list, so I may end up watching it in Japanese if I can find it when it comes out.

Both Animated and all three of the Micron Trilogy series had great Japanese openings and endings (though, some of the endings were just okay). This is the first lukewarm-sounding opening theme since Beast Wars Neo's "Love For Ever —Kimi wo Mamoru Tame ni—" (I'm not counting Beast Wars Returns's "Phat Planet" opening since it didn't change the song and so isn't a Japanese-original song).

Why the hell can't Japan just keep the damn theme song for once? Why do they feel the need to change the theme song, every TF series. Why don't they just dub the freaking song in Japanese? It doesn't make sense!!! The TFP song doesn't even have words, it would have been much easier!!!

SlyTF1 wrote:Why the hell can't Japan just keep the damn theme song for once? Why do they feel the need to change the theme song, every TF series. Why don't they just dub the freaking song in Japanese? It doesn't make sense!!! The TFP song doesn't even have words, it would have been much easier!!!

Becuase 9 times out of 10 the Japanese theme songs are million times better than the English theme song (though, this looks to be one of those rare 1 out of 10 times that the song isn't better).

Face it, aside from the Beast Era theme songs and the Prime opening, the English Transformers theme songs are mere rehashes of the same darn song over and over and over and over and over again! We get it! They're "more than meets the eye", they're "robots in disguise", the "Autobots wage their battles to yadda yadda yadda"! We've heard it a million times and it's barely gotten any original changes made to it! There's a distinct lack of originality that just makes it all repetitive and restrained from innovation.

The Japanese themes, however, have never waned in their ability to get a firm grasp on diversity and uniqueness, being very original and creative each time. Some/most of which tend to hot-blooded, hardcore, rockin' good tunes just bursting at the seems with blood-pumping energy and excitement ready to explode into sheer awesomeness and catchiness!

Animated, Micron Densetsu, Beast Wars Metals, Car Robots, Galaxy Force, Beast Wars II, and even Super Link all had especially good theme songs that simply wipe the floor with their American counterpart songs. Why, the Japanese Animated theme song was even performed in a live symphony orchestra, and that's sure saying something!

Okay so TF Prime has a fantastic score with a film quality feel to it and the Japanese are using this?? Not knocking the song or group, but it just doesn't feel like it fits to me. I have now been reminded of why I gave up anime years ago and have no interest in most Japanese pop culture anymore, it has become far too goofy/weird/bubblegum pop for my taste. I just hope this thing never makes it way into the US release in any way shape or form.

Usually I can actually withstand the force of terrible J/K-pop, since I simply cannot understand the lyrics. But as an opening/ending theme for TFPrime? Any words I could use to describe my feelings would be highly offensive and I'm not certain I could get away with that language on this board. Heck I wouldn't even call this good for a J-pop song.

Nekoman wrote:Srsly? I loved the Beast Wars track. That first OP was the absolute best.

This song is the one I'm referring to:

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it too. It even made it onto my top 20 list of the greatest Japanese Transformers opening themes. But, it's purely guilty pleasure material, as this song is, by no means, an excellent song.

Korean Pop group Big Bang have uploaded the full version of the Japanese Transformers Prime opening song titled "Feeling" from their album Alive. This hip hop grounded track borders electronica with a heavy western/house influence. The entire album is available on iTunes Japan, which you can view by clicking here. Enjoy the track via Big Bang's youtube.com video!

Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been. It did have some genuine catchy and upbeat parts in it, but... yeah, it just doesn't have that right "feeling" (ironic, isn't it? ).

Admittedly, the more I listen to it, the more it grows on me (as has been the case with every Japanese TF song I've heard). I honestly don't think this song is bad at all, just that it isn't anything that special either. At best, it's... okay.

It's nowhere near as cool as some of the previous JTF opening themes. I mean, RiD got Koji Wada! Micron Densetsu got Psychic Lover! Animated got JAM Project! So, yeah, with this, there is no comparison.

But, all the same, it isn't a bad song. It's just one that none of us was expecting after all the more epic-sounding theme songs we've had in the past. And, who knows, maybe the ending theme song will be cool. And, maybe the visuals of the theme song will help make this one work better.

For now, it's not great, but I've honestly heard much worse. It isn't "bad", it's just "different".

The song is awesome and I love it cause of the fact that I like Japanese song better than English/American songs xD.

But I will say this though...That doesnt sound like a Transformers song at all. AT ALL. That sounded like an opening theme of an anime >.>....An actual anime rather than TF Prime translated to Japanese.

Summary : Awesome song choice for a shonen anime. The worst song choice for a Transformers theme song -.-...

CrimsonPrime wrote:The song is awesome and I love it cause of the fact that I like Japanese song better than English/American songs xD.

But I will say this though...That doesnt sound like a Transformers song at all. AT ALL. That sounded like an opening theme of an anime >.>....An actual anime rather than TF Prime translated to Japanese.

Summary : Awesome song choice for a shonen anime. The worst song choice for a Transformers theme song -.-...

Surely this isn't the only one that doesn't like a JTF opening. Like, all the Japanese Beast Era openings don't sound very TFish, so how do those sound to you?

All the comparisons to the Japanese opening for Beast Wars S1 have me wondering, could it be because of the detailed style of CG? Is that style considered distinctly American enough that it must be complimented with the most distinctly American style of music that permeates Asian markets, namely rap? That's the only conclusion I can come up with.

The other unfortunate parallel is that the song is so light, it seems to be actively undermining the dark, ominous tone established in "Darkness Rising", in much the same way American Beast Wars was initially lightened and dumbed-down a bit in translation.

Bumblevivisector wrote:All the comparisons to the Japanese opening for Beast Wars S1 have me wondering, could it be because of the detailed style of CG? Is that style considered distinctly American enough that it must be complimented with the most distinctly American style of music that permeates Asian markets, namely rap? That's the only conclusion I can come up with.

Well, Beast Wars Metals (Japanese seasons 2-3) had more upbeat, rockin' good tunes for their openings, which maintained the serious nature of the show.

Though, both "Bad Spark" and "Cutting Edge" (both having been released as theatrical movies in Japan) had more lively tunes for their themes, so... yeah.

Bumblevivisector wrote:The other unfortunate parallel is that the song is so light, it seems to be actively undermining the dark, ominous tone established in "Darkness Rising", in much the same way American Beast Wars was initially lightened and dumbed-down a bit in translation.

It was lightened and dumbed-down all the way through the show, even in Beast Machines (Beast Wars Returns).

But, frankly, I would not mind if TF: Prime were to be dubbed in a more cheery way. The show seriously needs to lighten up, as season 1 just wasn't all that fun, and took till episode 12 to really pull me in. Which is why I'm grateful we have Rescue Bots.

Whooaa, hold up there Sabrblade, the serious, not-so-fun-and-kiddy thing is great. I can deal with a lot of change in Transformers, but I like this dark thing they got going on, so don't go giving anyone any ideas!

Personally, the song has grown on me. I love electronica, and even though this is upbeat and poppy, I like it!

GetRightRobot wrote:Whooaa, hold up there Sabrblade, the serious, not-so-fun-and-kiddy thing is great. I can deal with a lot of change in Transformers, but I like this dark thing they got going on, so don't go giving anyone any ideas!

At this point, there's probably no changing any plans Japan has for their dub of this series.

Though, I will say that Animated got a great Japanese dub, being very faithful to the English version.

Sabrblade wrote:But, frankly, I would not mind if TF: Prime were to be dubbed in a more cheery way. The show seriously needs to lighten up, as season 1 just wasn't all that fun, and took till episode 12 to really pull me in. Which is why I'm grateful we have Rescue Bots.

Oh no. No, no, no. TF Prime is already too damn light for my tastes. I like how Animated always had a dark overtone to it while still being bright and happy looking on the outside. But I'd like for Prime to be dark outside and on the inside. We've had too much happiness.